College Fjord is located very near Whittier,
Alaska. As the ship sailed into College
Fjord, the ship passed a number of glaciers, all named after colleges --
Barnard, Holyoke, Vassar, etc, until it arrived at Harvard Glacier, the largest of the glaciers in
College Fjord. The previous day ended
with a storm, and all during the night, the ship shook as it passed through the
storm. This morning dawned clear and
sunny, with calm seas, a perfect day for viewing glaciers. The snow-capped mountains shone brightly in
the clear sunshine.
Numerous glaciers flow into
College Fjord, the most famous of which is Harvard Glacier. Of the 10,000 glaciers in Southeast Alaska, only
eight are advancing; all the others are retreating. Harvard glacier is one of the eight advancing
glaciers; it is advancing 6-20 feet per DAY.
Harvard glacier is huge -- over 300 feet tall and more than two miles
across. Harvard Glacier is fed by nine
glaciers, which merge to form Harvard Glacier.
It is the largest and most impressive glacier that we saw on this cruise
-- and the largest glacier I have ever seen.
The captain stopped the ship for half an hour directly at the face of
the glacier. It was a truly awe
inspiring sight. Although only a very
small part of the glacier broke off (calved) while the ship was there, loud
cracks could be heard during our visit.
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